A lawsuit filed by former Jackson Housing Commission director Kimberly Truman remains in U.S. District Court. Truman was fired by the JHC board earlier this year after serving two months at Reed Manor as director.(Will Forgrave | MLive.com)

JACKSON,
MI – A $7.5 million lawsuit filed against the city of Jackson and the Jackson Housing
Commission will either by thrown out or decided by a jury in the coming months,
according to court officials.

A
date for a trail has yet to be set, and a federal judge could decide to either
set a trial by jury or close the lawsuit if Truman's allegations are found to be baseless. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood. It is unknown when Hood could make a decision whether to proceed with the case or not.

Truman is suing the city of Jackson and the JHC Board of Directors
for wrongful termination.

In
Truman's complaint, filed with the federal courts Aug. 12, she asks for $7.5
million in damages and her job back. She also requested a trial by jury.

Truman
said in June that her termination "seemed like a setup."

The
defendants named in the suit include the city, the JHC, former Jackson Mayor
Martin Griffin and the JHC Board of Commissioners, which includes defendants
Michelle Pultz-Orthaus, James Stark and Gerald Montgomery.

"I've
noticed signs of insubordination and incompetence that I can't move forward
with," Stark said following his vote to terminate Truman earlier this year. "Confrontation
between the executive director and the board is not healthy."

All
defendants denied Truman's allegations of wrongful termination in their answers
to the court filed in late October, and asked the courts to throw the case out.

Truman's
complaint reads in part that she "has suffered, and continues to suffer,
humiliation and embarrassment, anxiety and fear and a loss of career
opportunities" following her firing.

Contact Will
Forgrave at wforgrav@mlive.com or 517-262-7554. Follow him on Twitter at
@WillForgrave.